A Regional Examination of the Hourly System Operations and Reliability Implications for the United States Electric Power System with Coal Phased Out and High Penetrations of Efficiency and Renewable Generating Resources

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Year:

2013

Abstract:

A “business as usual” strategy for the U.S. electric power industry, wherein the country continues to rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, is not tenable if we are to achieve substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the next several decades. This paper examines a “Transition Scenario” in which the United States retires all of its coal plants and a quarter of its nuclear plants by 2050, moving instead toward a power system based on energy efficiency and renewable energy.